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@uiten tette @anni @fge S. C. CHURCH, CF WEST MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNCR TC HIMSELF AND S. S. WILCCX, OF 'SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. (31,161, dated January 15, 1867.

IMPROVED CAN-OPENER.

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TO ALL WI-IOM IT MAY CONCERTI:

Be it known that I, S. O. CHURCH, of West Meriden, in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Device for Opening Fruit Cans, rite.; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear,- and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute partof this specification, and represent in Figure 1, a side View.

Figure 2, an under view, 'looking up; and, in

Figure 3, its operation. y y

This invention is specially designed for removing the cover from what is known as the Lyman Patent Il'ruit Can, but is equally applicable to other cans of similar construction for like purposes. The greatest diihculty experienced in the use of these cans is in removing the cover, to facilitate which various devices have been resorted'to, but other than purely mechanical. My invention,.which fully overcomes the diiiiculty, is purely vmechanical, and consists'in a peculiarly formed lever, constructed so that one end forms the fulcrum to bear upon the upperside of the ilange of the cover, while the other end forms a handle, and between which and the fulcrum is hinged a hook which takes hold beneath the iiange of the cover upon the opposite side tothe fulcrum, so that by raising the handle the cover is easily removed from the can.

To enable others to construct and use my improvement I WillA proceed to describe the same as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

I A is the'lever, its one end,` returned down and spread as seen in gs. 1 and 2, so as to form an extended bearing. The other' end, I3, is formed into ,a handle of any convenient shape. To the lever A, upon a pivot, d., is-hung a hook, C, also spread and curved as seen in g. 2, and having; a angej', projecting inward so as to form an extended hearing upon the cover to be raised. Upon the upper end of the hook C I form a projecting arm, D, so that the thumb of the hand whiehgrasps the handle may rest upon the said arm to operate the hook. This completes the construction of my invention. Its operation is as follows, (shown in fig. 3:)

E is the can, and F the cover, of the usual construction; s, aange formed upon the lower edge of the cover. .This ange is formed when the cover is struck up, and is designed to facilitate the removal of the cover from the can; and forA this purpose I'ruake use of it. Resting the broad end, a, of the lever upon the upper side of the iiange, holding the can with one hand, the handle B of the lever in the other, the thumb resting on the arm I),.press the hook C so that the angef comes below the ilange upon the opposite side to the end e, which forms the fulcrum; then, holding the can, raise the lever as denoted in red, which easily draws the cover from the can.

Having, therefore, thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The lever A provided with a fulcrum a, in combination with the hook G and the handle B, constructed and arranged so as to operate in the manner described.

. S. O. CHURCH.

Witnesses:

HENRY M. Fos'rsr., ORVILLE H. PLA'rT. 

